Because satellite radio has so many channels, its music offerings need not be limited to the "top 40" style that dominates over-the-air. (As Clear Channel's Mark May pointed out at a recent PFF event, fregmentation of ownership produces fewer choices rather than more.}

Thus, being a satellite fan, as in "fanatic," I am wallowing in composers and works that I had never heard of: Svendsen, Vieuxtemps, Pitfield, Grieg (other than the great Piano Concerto). And Amazon is now awash in CD orders; I would not buy Mozart, usually, since I am sure of hearing lots of that, but lesser-known works of Gerald Finzi? They may never cross my path. (Downloading is not a good option for classical; no player that I know of can handle the information, and I spent several hundred $ to learn this.)

And Jeff Bezos, that clever devil, has computers that collect comments from other buyers that reassure me of the pleasure to be found in these works. He also knows that if I like Svendsen, I might like Scandanavian String Music, and if I bite on that then he can go for a trifecta by adding English String Miniatures (both volumes).

Prices have also been cut, to about $7 per disk, and I always ignore the shipping cost when I am talking myself into buying, so how could I pass up any of these opportunities, given the enthusiasm of my confrere fanatics?

So it is only a few clicks from thinking "that's nice" about some piece of music to $30 in the hands of the music industry and Amazon for disks that are, to phrase it mildly, not big movers. It is the Long Tail at work. And well worth every penny -- go, guys; be fruitful and multiply.

posted by James DeLong @ 8:00 AM | Markets: Business, Investment & Innovation

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